Luna's Quest
by Sonic the Shapeshifter
Summary: When a robot destroys her home, Luna the Wolf steps out of the woods of the Ancient Ruins for the first time in her life. Now, she must find Sonic the Hedgehog to help him destroy evil once and for all, and find the truth to the mystery of her mother.
1. Leaving Home

**This Story originally premiered on my site on Neopets, www doteth petpages doteth Neopets doteth com /SeastarHooves.**

**But then some jerk said it contained profanity and it was unjustly deleted by the stupid lazy Neopets team, who didn't take the time to read the story because it was so long. I can promise you a million times that it doesn't, never had, and never will contain profanity. It is simply a Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction story about my made up character, Luna the Wolf. She is my copyright. No Stealers (OR ELSE)**

**For pictures of the characters and short biographies of the characters that appear in the story, go to www (doteth) petpages (doteth) Neopets (doteth) com /RontuAruHooves**

**I have pictures on this page, but if they don't show up, go to the site I posted above.**

**Also, if you read my other story, "Of Shapeshifters and Violets" then you will be pleased to find there's another story about Carlee and Violet on there (only it's for Neopets, with some ties to Sonic the Hedgehog)**

**There are 21 chapters of this story and I will post one chapter each week, sort of like a weekly TV program. This will give me enough time to write more chapters (It doesn't stop at 21, of course, to me, that's too short of a time!) and take out the html I had had in the original chapters so it could turn up on my old page.**

**Now, without further ado, here's chapter one of Luna's Quest. (Sorry to talk your ear off, heh heh.)**

**Chapter One: Leaving Home**

Luna walked through the forest. She was a wolf. But unlike other wolves in the forest, she walked on two legs. Animals regarded her thoughtfully as she walked through the forest; they respected her, they knew that though she was different, she was just like them.

Luna wore a light blue tank top, and light blue shorts. She also wore a bandana around her neck. She liked the color a lot; it reminded her of her mother.

Luna flinched. She didn't know who, or where, or even what her mother was, whether she was a wolf, or something else. Luna had been abandoned at two years old. She had vague memories of her mother; someone standing on two legs, wearing a light blue cloak, ears coming out of the hood, standing in front of the light of the full moon. Pure white fur, glowing eyes.

Luna couldn't remember what eye color her mom had. Only that they glowed. Luna always remembered the color of a person's eyes. Animals she met would feel frozen as she stood, staring straight into their eyes. They could not look away until she did. It was as though she held them in a trance.

She couldn't remember having any brothers or sisters, and if she did, she hadn't seen them. Luna had never seen any animals that walked on two legs, like her. Except for her mother. She had gotten her clothing from an old trunk she'd found in her old den. Her den was a huge room in the ground, under a large oak tree. She had a bed, some chairs, a door, to keep unwelcome visitors out of the tree, and lived there happily. Somewhat. Luna was fourteen. She had just turned fourteen a couple days before, on August fifteenth. Luna always enjoyed running around on her birthday, playing around with animals that she'd made friends with, and looking at the trees. But not that birthday. That birthday, was the day that one four of her little bird friends brought her a beautiful, glowing, light blue emerald they'd found in the forest. Power emanated from the emerald. Fascinated, Luna touched it. That was when it happened...

Earlier that day

Something smashed into the tree above Luna. Luna jumped and looked around, as dust fell down through the ceiling. Just then something smashed through the door. Luna whipped her head around to see a large robot crashing through the heavy wooden door. The birds tweeted and whistled and scattered, flying past the robot and out the door. The robot was huge. Its single red eye scanned around until it saw red, green, and yellow light signals coming from Luna, and a purple signal from the inside of a gray box shape. The robot shot out its arm at Luna, who dropped to all fours to escape the gigantic claw. The claw grabbed the Chaos Emerald, which for some reason made Luna angry. Luna suddenly turned into a dragon, lunging at the robot and crunching it into a heap of twisted metal with her ferocious teeth. The robots red eye sent out one, single beam of red light before Luna smashed the robot with her enormous, scaly paw.

Luna then turned back into her normal form. Her clothes were still on; she could shapeshift while in them and not get them ripped apart. Luna could shapeshift. Another thing that set her apart from the animals of the forest, but the one thing that made them respect her.

Unfortunately, when Luna had turned into a dragon, she had unintentionally destroyed her bed, and her table, and her chairs. When Luna walked outside of her den, she found out that the robot had scorched the tree, leaving it blackened, and barren. There was nothing she could do. The damage had been done. Luna would have to leave her home and go somewhere else. Luna crept back in the hole to her den. It had originally been kind of small, but the robot changed all that. Luna walked over to the destroyed robot, which still held the light blue chaos emerald in its claws. Luna pried apart the claw and picked up the emerald.

This was what you were after," She said to the robot, "So this has to be important."

Luna picked up the emerald and dropped it into the bandana around her neck. The bandana showed no sign of having anything out of the ordinary inside it, so no one should suspect that she had anything in it on her travels.

Luna didn't have any food in her house; mainly she would go out and eat berries, a very un-wolf like thing to do. Luna had nothing to carry with her but the mysterious emerald, and as such, she could simply leave.

Which was exactly why she was in the forest right now. Luna was leaving the forest. She knew that she was not like the other animals since she was little, but not until now had she ever thought of leaving it. But she was old enough now, and her home had been destroyed, so she had reason to leave. The birds solemnly watched her as she walked farther and farther away from the trees, silence filling the forest.

And that was how Luna's quest began.


	2. Entering Station Square

Chapter Two: Entering Station Square

Luna finally came to the edge of the forest. Sunlight flowed over her, blanketing her in warmth. Luna blinked a few times, unused to this light, and then looked around. There was a ladder in front of her. Luna chuckled. Like she needed a ladder to get to high places.

Suddenly she sprouted wings from her back and flew up to the top of the ladder. Luna hovered for a few moments before landing lightly on the ledge of the cliff with the ladder by it. Suddenly Luna's wings disappeared, leaving her in her normal form once more.

There was a metal mine cart in front of Luna. Luna had never seen one of those before, but figured that she simply needed to walk inside of it. She climbed in the cart curiously. Suddenly the side of the cart flipped up and started forward, into the mine. Luna fell over backwards, surprised at the sudden start, and blinked. It was really dark in the tunnel. Only Luna's eyes glowed to let her see around the place. She could she shapes above her. A wheel of the mine cart squeaked, and suddenly Luna saw thousands of tiny white eyes opening above her.

The bats suddenly all started screeching and flapping through the cave. Luna ducked in the cart, holding her hands over her head to keep the bats from flying into her.

The bats made it out of the tunnel just before she did, flying in a black cloud over the mountains into the sky. The mine cart slowly screeched to a stop at the other side of the tunnel and a side of it went down, making it apparent to Luna that she could climb out of it now.

Luna climbed out of it and looked around. There was a waterfall to her left, flowing down into a pool of water below her. To her right there was a wall of rock; it was a mountainous region. Ahead of her on her right was a cabin, not that she quite recognized it as such, and on the far left in front of her, there was a tree and a cave. In the distance, there seemed to be some railroad tracks in the air, and above those, on a mountain, there was a large house on a cliff. Also in front of her, on the ground, was a path leading past the cabin.

Luna started walking along the path. A man was standing in front of the cabin she saw.

"Hello, there." He said, "I've never seen you around here before. Are you from around these parts?"

Luna blinked. She'd had an old bookcase in her home before it was destroyed and she'd read everything in it, so she knew many words.

"No…" She replied.

"I suppose you're planning to take the train over to Station Square, eh?" The man asked.

"Station Square?" Luna asked.

"You know, the big city. Bright lights, traffic, fast-food, Twinkle Park- that's Station Square." The man said. He blinked. "Don't tell me you've never been." He said in astonishment.

Luna shook her head.

"Well then, you've got to go. You see that Train Station over there?" The man gestured to a large building with stairs going up its side. "Pay for a ticket and you'll be there in no time."

Luna looked at the man.

"You've got no money, either, do you?" The man said, in greater astonishment.

Luna blushed and shook her head.

"How did you live so long with so little of the green stuff?" The man asked, not really expecting an answer. He shook his head. "Okay, tell you what. I'll pay for your ticket and give you a little money and food for when you get there. It'll be enough to start you off. Come inside, with me." The man walked inside of the cabin. Luna followed him.

As the kind man started rummaging through his cupboards, Luna looked around the cabin. It was a homey little place, with a T. V. and some chairs and couches, a bookcase filled to the brim with books, a large desk with papers strewn across it, a small kitchen with pots and pans and a sink to wash the dishes in, several cupboards, a table, and some smaller tables with drawers. The man had gotten out a handkerchief and put a small loaf of bread, a plastic knife, a couple apples from a bowl on the table, and a bottle of water in it. He then wrapped the things up in the handkerchief and tied the top in a knot so the things wouldn't fall out.

"Here you go." The man said, handing Luna the bundle.

"Thank you." Luna said gratefully.

"Oh, I almost forgot." The man said to Luna. He dug his hand into his pocket and took out his wallet. "Here's the money for your ticket, and here's some money for some more food when you get there." He said, handing Luna some money.

"Thank you so much." Luna said.

"Oh, no thanks necessary. Come back one day to see me, all right?" The man said.

"Okay." Luna said.

She smiled gratefully at the man and turned to walk out the door. When she had her hand on the handle she turned around.

"One last thing." Luna said, looking around at the man.

"Yes?" The man inquired.

"What's your name?" Luna asked.

"They call me Mr. Anders." The man said.

"My name is Luna." Luna said.

"Goodbye Luna, and good luck to you." Mr. Anders said.

"Goodbye Mr. Anders, and thanks for everything." Luna said.

Mr. Anders smiled at Luna, and Luna smiled back. Then, she walked out of the door.

Mr. Anders watched her as she ran to the Train Station, and then walked back inside of his house.

Luna paid for her ticket and got on the train. The train left the Station, and Luna was finally on her way.


	3. Running From Shadow

**Chapter Three: Running From Shadow**

Luna got off the train and walked down the stairs of the Train Station.

So this is Station Square." She marveled aloud as she walked through the doors of the Station.

People were walking down the streets of the city, and cars were rolling along past the station. A large building with a Saturn at the top of it had a sign on it stating that it was "Twinkle Park". To her right there was another building. Luna walked down the steps and began to walk around the Square. She had no idea where she was going. Soon she was walking past miscellaneous shops and stores, far away from the Train Station.

As Luna walked down the road she began to feel hungry. She walked into an alley and sat down. She then opened the handkerchief and ate some of the bread, as well as an apple and some water. The rest she would eat tomorrow, she decided. She wrapped up the food again and held it in her arms. It was getting dark. Being a wolf, Luna wasn't tired when it became dark. She got up and continued walking down the street.

People were still walking down the streets of the city, not as many as there had been that afternoon, but a lot. Luna continued to walk late into the night. Around midnight, she was almost the only person left, walking along the streets of the city. Almost, because up ahead there was a black figure walking down the sidewalk.

He was on the other side of the street from Luna, nearly blending in with the shadows. He walked under the light of the lamppost and paused for a moment, allowing Luna to see what he looked like. He was a black hedgehog, with red streaks along his quills. He wore white and red shoes, and his eyes were red.

This was not quite what Luna would have expected. She had never seen another creature that was similar to herself, in that they stood on two legs and wore clothes, other than a human. But what surprised Luna the most was what he held in one hand. A red emerald, similar to her own except in color. Luna was standing under an awning in the shadows. A bright, light blue glow suddenly shined below Luna's eyes. She glanced down to see that her bandana, which she always wore around her neck, was glowing. She reached inside of it to pull out her light blue emerald. This was the source of the glow.

Luna looked over to the hedgehog. His emerald, too, was glowing. Suddenly the hedgehog looked over at her. Luna froze, not knowing what to do. The hedgehog decided for her. He suddenly was in front of her.

Luna shrieked and jumped back.

Hand it over." The hedgehog commanded her.

Luna glanced at the emerald, then at the hedgehog.

No! Who are you?" She asked.

I am Shadow the Hedgehog. And you are…?" Shadow asked.

I'm…Luna. Luna the Wolf. And I won't hand it over." Luna said.

Look, Luna. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, I will have your Chaos Emerald." Shadow said forcefully.

What's a Chaos Emerald?" Luna asked.

Don't play dumb." Shadow said, annoyed, "You're holding one in your hand."

Luna looked at her emerald. "This?" She asked, pointing to it.

Yes." Shadow said, one of his ears twitching in annoyance.

I knew something was special about it." Luna muttered.

What?" Shadow said in surprise.

I'm not going to give it to you!" Luna said.

Oh, we'll see about that." Shadow said.

Luna suddenly ducked past Shadow and began running down the street.

I guess it'll be the hard way." Shadow sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and started skating up to Luna.

A black flash whizzed past Luna, and suddenly Shadow was standing a few yards ahead of her.

Going somewhere?" Shadow said mockingly.

Luna skidded to a stop and gasped.

Now hand over that emerald!" Shadow ordered.

Luna growled. "NO!" She shouted, suddenly leaping at Shadow and knocking him over.

After Luna knocked down Shadow, she turned into a cheetah and zoomed down the street.

Shadow got up and growled. "Stupid shape-shifter!" He said. He looked around. "Hey!" He shouted out. "Where's my emerald?!"


	4. Encounter With The Jewel Thief

**Chapter Four: Encounter with the Jewel Thief**

The cheetah ran through the city swiftly. It carried two Chaos Emeralds in its jaws. It darted into one alley, and from that alley into another. It leapt over a massive fence, landing silently and continuing to run.

Finally the cheetah ran into one last alley, where it ducked behind a garbage disposal and suddenly turned into a wolf again. Luna huddled against the garbage bin, clutching her two emeralds in her hands. The red and blue emeralds glowed together, a small purple spark coming up between them. Luna held the emeralds apart, and then closer together. The emeralds still glowed in each other's presence. Luna put the emeralds in her bandana and continued to huddle against the garbage bin. She wanted to make sure that Shadow didn't come after her. She didn't know what would happen if he did find her.

Finally Luna fell asleep.

A bat flew through the skies, above the buildings of the city. She was a part-time government spy, but tonight was her night off. Now, she was jewel hunting.

Her name was Rouge the Bat, and she wanted every jewel that she set her eyes on.

Such as the Chaos Emeralds.

But where could one find a Chaos Emerald in the city? Especially with Sonic around. Sonic was always searching for the Chaos Emeralds to keep them from Eggman. If Sonic didn't have the Chaos Emerald, Rouge felt open to steal it.

Which was exactly why she was following the cheetah down below, tonight. She didn't know if it had escaped from the Zoo, or why it was in the city, but the cheetah had something glittery in its mouth. Something glowing. Flying a little lower told the bat what was in the cheetah's mouth. Two Chaos Emeralds! One would have attracted Rouge, two made Rouge incessant on snatching them.

She followed the cheetah from the air, unseen by its eyes. She followed it around corners and down streets until finally the big cat dove into an alley. Rouge flew onto the top of one of the buildings beside the alley. She watched the cheetah from above as it sat down beside a garbage bin and spat out the two emeralds. Shocked, she watched it shapeshift into a wolf.

_Well, what do you know_, Rouge thought, watching as the wolf gathered the emeralds together and put them in her bandana, _there's a shapeshifter on the loose_.

After the wolf seemed to fall asleep, Rouge spread her wings and flew silently down a few feet from the wolf.

Carefully she began to reach out towards the bandana around the wolf's neck. Just then a man pulled open his window and threw a garbage bag into the alley. Luna straightened up with a yelp when the bag hit the ground by the bin. She saw Rouge, who immediately grabbed at Luna's bandana. Luna grabbed the bat's hand and pulled her over, leaping up and then jumping a few yards away from Rouge, by the dead end of the alley.

Rouge got up and dusted herself off. "Wanna play like that, eh?"

Luna kept her eyes on Rouge, never taking her eyes off of the bat. She backed into the wall and then glanced back.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide," Rouge said, "Now, give me those emeralds!"

You're after them too?" Luna said in disbelief.

They belong to me," Rouge said, "All the world's jewels are mine to keep!"

I don't think so!" Luna said with a glare. Suddenly angel wings sprouted out of Luna's back, and the wolf suddenly started flying out of the alley.

Now, you wait a minute!" Rouge said, taking off after Luna.

The pair flew above the city, one after the other.

Luna flew as high as she could, Rouge following her. Suddenly Luna fell out of the sky, dropping like a dead weight. Just when she was about to hit the street, she spread her wings and began to fly again. Rouge copied her move, gaining on Luna with every flap of her wings.

Do you really think you can out-fly me?" Rouge asked as she neared Luna.

Luna flapped her wings harder and growled.

Meanwhile Shadow was up and skating, searching the streets for the wolf who had stolen his emerald. Suddenly a breeze flew past him, and he looked ahead of himself to see the very wolf, only with wings! Suddenly a second breeze passed him, and he saw that a bat was following the wolf. Shadow smiled to himself and suddenly propelled forward.

Skating up to Luna, Shadow said, "Hey there, stranger."

Luna looked over at him, surprised.

Shadow suddenly jumped into the air and spin-cycled into Luna, knocking her to the side and making her roll by her momentum into a trash can. Shadow stopped skating and turned, skating a few yards in front of Luna.

Rouge flew up to Shadow.

Hello, Shadow." Rouge said.

Who are you?" Shadow asked her, "And how do you know my name?"

Rouge shook her head and sighed. "You forgot your past again, didn't you? My name is Rouge."

_Again?_ Luna thought. She sat up and brushed some of the trash off of herself. She had a few scratches and bruises from when she'd been knocked to the ground.

Give me those emeralds!" Shadow said to Luna, stepping closer to the wolf.

Now, wait a minute!" Rouge said to him, "I saw her first! Those emeralds are mine!"

No you didn't," Shadow said, "I saw her first and she stole my red emerald!"

Either way, those emeralds still belong to me!" Rouge argued.

As the two fought about who would have the emeralds, Luna suddenly started shapeshifting. Her eyes suddenly changed position, her mouth grew longer, her hands and feet began turning solid, her elbows and knees reversed, her tail grew longer, and a horn sprouted out of her forehead. Suddenly, without either Shadow or Rouge noticing, Luna had turned into a winged unicorn!

Suddenly she disappeared!

Fine, we'll do it this way. I'll get the red emerald, and you'll get the blue one." Shadow said.

He and Rouge looked over to the garbage cans and trash, only to see that nothing was there. A single white feather was the only evidence that Luna had ever been there! Shadow picked up the feather angrily and held it in his hand.

This is all your fault!" Shadow and Rouge yelled at each other.

Humph. There are no emeralds here so I'm leaving." Rouge said, annoyed. She flew into the sky again and Shadow looked at the feather in his hand.

He spun it between his fingers and put it in his quills for safekeeping.

Well, shapeshifter Luna, you'd better watch your back." Shadow said. He had made up his mind. He was going to track that wolf down!


	5. Explanations

Chapter Five: Sonic the Hedgehog   
Luna woke up. It was dawn. She had found a place relatively free of bats and hedgehogs to sleep at. She walked out from under a huge, red, metal bridge and walked around the city. A boy on a bicycle rode past her, tossing newspapers left and right, onto doorsteps of buildings. As he rode past, a newspaper fell out of his bag and onto the road. He rode ahead, not noticing. Luna ran over and picked up the paper.   
"Hey, kid!" She yelled out, holding up the paper in the air, but the boy had already ridden down the street and did not hear her.   
Luna turned into a cheetah and ran to get him, the paper in her mouth. She was careful not to get it wet or pierce the paper. She saw the boy and ran up beside him. The boy screeched his bike to a halt and stared at Luna. Luna dropped the paper on the ground and shapeshifted to her regular form. Then she picked up the paper and held it out to the boy. The boy stared at Luna for a moment and then screamed, pedaling like mad down the street. Luna stared after him and then shrugged her shoulders. She walked over to the curb of the street and sat down. She then opened the paper and began reading it.   
Station Square Fare 

In recent news, Eggman, otherwise known as Dr. Robotnik, has been reported to be sending robots to steal from shops…   
Luna read the article interestedly. There was a picture of Eggman, a robot made by Eggman, and another picture at the bottom of a hedgehog. At first Luna thought that the hedgehog was Shadow, but then she realized that it was not a black hedgehog, but a blue one. There was also a picture of a yellow emerald.   
Eggman has been stealing these emeralds for a while now, and his plans are not yet known. Sonic the Hedgehog has been spotted running through the Square and is reported to be searching for the Chaos emeralds. If you have any information on the whereabouts of the emeralds or of Eggman's plans, please contact the local authorities…   
Luna studied the picture of Sonic for a few minutes. She raised her hand and felt the bandana around her neck and brought the two emeralds out. She held them up to the picture of the Chaos emerald in the paper. She put the emeralds back in her bandana and read the rest of the paper, then shapeshifted one of her hands into a tiger paw. She used one of her tiger claws to gently cut out the article and then folded the paper into a small square, putting it too in her bandana, with the emeralds. Then she got up and walked down the street.   
It was time for her to get out of the city.   
And to find out more about this Sonic the Hedgehog. 


	6. Heading To The City Limits

**Chapter Six: Heading to the City Limits**

Luna ran down the street at high speed. She wanted to get to the city limits before nightfall. She was a purple blur, running down the street.

A few people stared at her as she ran down the street; a few others yelled at her for running down the sidewalk, calling her crazy, and scowling. But Luna didn't care. All she knew was that she had to find that blue hedgehog- what's-his-name? Sonic, she remembered, his name is Sonic because he runs at the speed of sound, if she remembered correctly from the article in the paper.

Well, Sonic, I'll find you and help you in your fight against evil, Luna thought to herself, running across yet another road.

As she was nearing a crossroad, a black hedgehog with red streaks on his quills walked out of an alley. Luna tried to skid to a stop but couldn't, and she crashed straight into him.

They somersaulted to a stop with the hedgehog pinned under Luna. Angry, the hedgehog pushed Luna off and stood up.

It's you." He said angrily.

Luna stood up and backed away a few steps, taking a defensive position.

You stole my Chaos Emerald!" Shadow yelled angrily.

You tried to steal mine first!" Luna yelled back, "Who said they belonged to you?"

I did!" Shadow replied angrily, "I need them to uncover the secrets of my past!"

Luna was taken aback by this. "You…you don't know where you came from either?" She said quietly, almost to herself.

Shadow was stunned by her words. "What'd you say?" He asked.

Luna didn't reply. Instead, she ran.

She doesn't know who she is, either…" Shadow said to himself. He looked over as he saw the wolf's pointy ears going out of sight. "She's pretty fast." Shadow said.

He thought about the Chaos Emeralds. "Maybe she needs them to discover her past, too." He said to himself. He straightened up. "Either way, so do I!"

With that, Shadow started to skate after Luna.


	7. Fuschia Fox

Fuschia Fox

It was mid-afternoon in the city. Large gray clouds loomed overhead, threatening to release a waterfall at any given moment. Luna walked down the street, knowing that it would rain soon, not giving it a care until it did. It had rained earlier, delaying her search for Sonic. Now she pressed on, wanting to make it out of the city at least, today. She wondered what the hedgehog was like…hopefully, nicer than that other one she'd met, Shadow. A wind blew through the street, making a strand of hair fly forward into Luna's face. Pushing the strand back, Luna strode on.   
further down the street   
"Give it back!" The fox yelled, lunging at the weasel.   
The weasel laughed in reply, holding the small box higher.   
An echidna rammed into the small fox, knocking her into a wall. The fox slumped onto the ground, but got up again. She held her side in pain. A look of anger emanated from her eyes.   
"I said, give it BACK!" She yelled, running over and lunging at the weasel.   
Suddenly a hawk flew into her, knocking her down. The fox tried to jump up, but the echidna and the hawk ran over to her and pressed her down. The fox struggled, growling and trying to punch them. The weasel lifted the little box over his head.   
"NOOO!!!" The fox cried out one last time, stopping her futile struggling.   
Then the weasel through the box as hard as he could at the ground. It smashed into pieces on impact. Tears began pouring out of the fox's eyes as the trio began to laugh.   
"Two-tailed freak of nature!" The trio laughed out as the fox wept silently.   
"Is there a problem here?" A voice suddenly asked.   
The fox looked up to see a wolf standing a few feet in front of her.   
"Beat it, wolfy." The weasel said.   
The wolf narrowed her eyes at the weasel. "Let go of her." She said to the echidna and hawk holding down the fox.   
"Make us!" The echidna said.   
"Yeah, girly." The hawk echoed his companions. "Run along before we make you."   
The weasel said, "There are three of us and one of you. If you don't leave now, something baaad might happen to ya."   
The wolf stood her ground.   
"All right, don't say we didn't warn ya!" The weasel said. Suddenly he ran at the wolf.   
As the fox watched, the weasel leapt on Luna and they both fell on the ground, the weasel on top of the wolf. Suddenly a scaly tail wrapped itself around the weasel's ankle and the weasel was thrown back, all the way across the street and into a wall.   
The wolf stood up then, towering over the fox, hawk, and echidna. Scaly wings with sharp talons suddenly spread over the wolf's head. Lightning crashed behind the wolf just then, as rain started to fall. The hawk and echidna screamed as horns grew between the wolf's ears.   
"LEAVE." The evil looking wolf said in a deep voice, it's once round eyes turning yellow with slits replacing the pupils.   
The echidna and hawk leapt up and ran into each other, falling over and then scrambling up to run away. The wolf turned and looked straight at the terrified weasel then. The weasel screamed in absolute terror and then ran down the street. Meanwhile the little fox was trembling, curled into a ball.   
The rain poured then, drenching the fox and demonic looking wolf. Suddenly the fox didn't feel the rain pounding on her. Scared, she cautiously looked up. The wolf was still there, its tail wrapped around its legs. Its yellow, slit-pupil eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance. Its wings were spread above the fox, water dripping off into the street, keeping the fox dry. The rain kept up for about two hours. The entire time the demon-wolf did not move. The fox sat up, curling her two tails around herself to keep warm. She no longer felt any fear for this…creature. It did not seem to want to harm her.   
The rain gradually became lighter, finally becoming a light drizzle.   
"My name…" The little fox said.   
The wolf's ears pricked. Seeing that the wolf who had saved her was listening, the little fox was encouraged to say more.   
"My name is Fuschia." The fox said. She timidly looked up at the wolf. "What's yours?" She asked, watching it.   
The wolf's slit-pupils became round again. It slowly looked down at the fox. "I am Luna the Wolf." She said.   
Finally the rain stopped. The wolf retracted its wings, flapping them to get the water off. Suddenly the wings disappeared. Its tail and horns disappeared. Fuschia slowly stood up.   
"How did you do that?" She asked slowly, not wanting to offend Luna.   
"I am a shapeshifter." Luna replied, "I can shapeshift into anything I want. I chose to become a half dragon."   
"Thank you." Fuschia said gratefully, "They always picked on me for my two tails, and because I like to build stuff…and can fly…"   
Luna looked down at Fuschia. "So you can fly." She said, more to herself than to Fuschia.   
Luna walked past Fuschia and began to continue down the street.   
"Wait!" Fuschia said, running after the wolf.   
Luna stopped and looked down at Fuschia.   
"Where are you going?" The fox asked.   
"I am on a quest." Luna replied, starting to walk again.   
The little fox walked beside her. "What quest?" She asked.   
"I am going to find Sonic the Hedgehog and give him these." Luna said. She pulled two glowing emeralds out of the bandana around her neck.   
Fuschia stared at them, amazed at the emeralds as much as she was amazed that they were totally unnoticeable inside of the wolf's bandana. "What are they?" She asked.   
"Chaos Emeralds." Luna replied. The wolf then took some newspaper clippings out of her bandana and gave them two the fox.   
Fuschia looked at the articles and the pictures. "So you're going to give them to this hedgehog guy?" Fuschia asked.   
"Yes." Luna replied.   
Fuschia stopped in the middle of the road. "Can I go with you?" She asked.   
Luna stopped walking too. She was silent for a moment. "…Yes." She finally said. She turned to the fox. "Come on, Fuschia." She said.   
The fox was stunned for a moment. Then a smile spread across her face, and she ran up to Luna, who was now walking again.   
"So where are we going now?" Fuschia asked curiously.   
"Out of the city." Luna said, "And from there on, to the place where Sonic is."   
As they walked on out of the city, they began to learn a little about each other. Luna told Fuschia about where she had grown up, about how on her birthday her home was invaded by the robot, her meeting with Shadow and the bat, and about her quest to help fight against evil.   
Likewise, Fuschia told Luna about her life, about how she'd been abandoned, living in a cardboard box and building things out of paperclips and trashbags, and about others picking on her because of her deformity of two tails and building things. Luna also learned that the fox was eight years old.   
Luna felt a little more connected to the fox after learning about her abandonment. "I don't know whether I was abandoned or not," She told Fuschia, "But for what little I know about my mother, I do believe that she wouldn't have abandoned me. But I don't know what happened."   
She ruffled Fuschia's bangs. "Come on," She said, "Let's get out of here." 


	8. Sprinter

**Chapter Eight: Sprinter**

Luna and Fuschia flew through the air. Luna had a pair of wings, not the demon wings she'd had when saving Fuschia, but angel wings with pure white feathers. The pair flew over a few more cities, seeing trees up ahead.

There it is." Luna said, "The edge of town. I didn't know we'd come to it this early."

The wolf looked over to see Fuschia staring at her.

What?" Luna asked.

Nothing. I was just thinking. You've really never been here before?" Fuschia asked.

Never. Only my old forest." Luna said, adding with a frown, "Before that stupid robot helped destroy it."

Helped?" Fuschia asked.

Well, I can't say that the robot destroyed my house, but he provoked me to taking a dragon form inside of it, so he made me destroy it." Luna said.

Oh." Fuschia said.

They flew faster, landing in front of the forest.

Can't fly in here." Fuschia remarked.

Nope." Luna said, "But I feel safer in forests."

Luna's wings disappeared and they walked along the path through the forest, etched out by humans long ago. A shadowy figure hung upside-down from a tree a few yards away, watching the pair as they walked through the forest.

Luna and Fuschia continued walking through the forest silently. The unknown figure tailed them, leaping silently from tree to tree.

Luna suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped walking and turned around quickly. Nothing but a bush on the side of the path. Luna stared at the bush.

Hmm…" She said thoughtfully.

What's up?" Fuschia asked, stopping and looking at Luna.

I just thought…never mind. It's probably nothing." Luna said, turning and walking beside Fuschia again.

A pair of ears and eyes rose above the bush. They narrowed in interest. The stranger then continued to follow Luna and Fuschia.

Luna walked along the path, but couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching her. The feeling stayed with her for the two hours that they'd walked through the forest.

This forest never ends!" Fuschia exclaimed, "Do you even know what's on the other side- if there IS another side?"

Luna didn't reply. She was looking over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye.

Luna?" Fuschia asked.

Hmm?" Luna asked.

What is going on?" Fuschia asked, "You're totally out of it. It's like you're not hearing a thing I say."

Sorry, Fuschia," Luna apologized, "I just can't shake the feeling that someone is watching us…"

Suddenly something fell in front of Luna, upside-down. Luna yelped and fell over backwards. A purple bat wearing sunglasses was standing, upside down, on the branch of a tree. He wore a gold earring in one ear, and two gold earrings in the other. He seemed unsurprised at Luna falling over.

Who're you?" Fuschia asked, pointing a finger at the upside down bat.

And why were you following us?" Luna asked, getting up and dusting off her skirt.

The bat swung on top of the branch and looked down at Luna and Fuschia.

I'm Sprinter." The bat said, "I just kind of do that. I wanted to find out your names. I also wanted to make sure you weren't some kind of person working for Eggman." His eyes narrowed as he said the evil genius's name.

Did you have to give me a heart attack?" Luna asked, a faint trace of anger in her voice.

Yes." Sprinter grinned. He handed Luna a rose from out of nowhere, "Here, Luna."

Luna took the rose and sniffed it. She looked up at Sprinter. "What is it?" She asked.

You've never seen a flower before?" Sprinter asked.

Of course I've seen flowers before, but never one like this." Luna said, sniffing the rose again, "It smells nice."

It's a rose." Sprinter said, a little puzzled at Luna not knowing what a rose was, "Where are you from?"

I'm from a forest. But not this forest." Luna replied, "It had ancient ruins in it."

Hmm." Sprinter replied, "I'm guessing this is your first time out of the forest, huh?"

Fuschia stepped in then, asking, "How long have you been spying on her? On us?"

Since you entered the forest." Sprinter replied casually. He jumped down from the branch in front of the Luna and Fuschia. "So where're ya headed to? It might interest you to know that you've been walking in circles for the past few hours."

We have?" Luna asked.

I knew it!" Fuschia exclaimed.

We're headed to the other side. You wouldn't happen to know what's on the other side, would you?" Luna asked.

A beach." Sprinter replied, "I like to surf there."

What's surfing?" Luna asked.

It's where you take a surfboard and ride the waves with it." Sprinter said, smiling, "You should try it out some time. It's fun."

Luna nodded, "It sounds interesting."

Luna and I are trying to find Sonic the Hedgehog," Fuschia interrupted, "Have you seen him?"

Unfortunately, not for a while," Sprinter said, "I've been looking for Eggman, personally. I have some unfinished business with him." He said, hate and anger coming into his eyes.

Luna watched Sprinter understandingly, "I think one of his robots came to my house." She said, "I had to leave because I accidently destroyed it when I fought him."

You destroyed your house?" Sprinter asked, his eyes widening.

Luna!" Fuschia said.

What?" Luna asked Fuschia, "It's not like shapeshifting is uncommon here, is it?"

Sprinter's mouth dropped open. "You can shapeshift?" He asked.

Yeah. So?" Luna asked, "Sonic can run at superspeed, you can fly, Fuschia, I'm sure that there are plenty of shapeshifters around here. Right?"

No, Luna. There aren't." Fuschia said.

Sprinter regained his posture. "Well, then." He said, "Why are you seeking out Sonic?"

I'm going to find him and help him fight evil." Luna said, "Why do you ask?"

Sprinter paused for a minute before answering. "I'll go with you. And just so you know, Eggman is the root of all evil."

Fuschia was surprised for a minute. She looked at Luna imploringly.

Luna was silent. She stood for a minute, thinking over Sprinter's proposal. "Sounds good to me," She finally said, "As long as you don't start trying to steal my emeralds." She took her two emeralds out of the bandana around her neck and showed them to Sprinter.

You have two Chaos Emeralds!" Sprinter said, surprised, "There are only seven, and you've got two!" He looked at Luna and a rye smile formed on his face. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?" He said, more of a statement than a question.

You bet she is." Fuschia smiled.

Well then," Luna said, "This makes us a team. Now, let's get to the beach!"


	9. A Friend Not Forgotten

**Chapter Nine: A Friend Not Forgotten**

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia finally came to the edge of the forest. Sprinter, who had been talking to Luna and Fuschia during their trek through the forest, fell silent as they neared the edge. Luna looked at Sprinter out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at the ground as he walked, seemingly deep in thought. Luna was about to say something to him when she heard a noise. Her ears twitched and she stopped, perplexed. She'd never heard a noise like this before. It was a rough sound, a little harsh or course sounding, but a nice sound all the same.

Sprinter and Fuschia heard it too, and they turned to look at Luna.

That's the ocean." Sprinter said to Luna, "It's a rather relaxing sound, once you get used to it."

Luna nodded and the trio started walking along again.

If we hear the ocean, we must be close to the edge of the forest." Fuschia remarked.

Sprinter nodded, but did not reply, still deep in thought. Luna looked over at him.

What's wrong?" She asked.

Nothing." Sprinter replied, with a frown.

Something's wrong, Sprinter. You've been quiet for quite a while now," Luna replied, "What's wrong?"

It's nothing, okay?" Sprinter replied, looking at Luna, "Besides, no one cares any more."

Luna did not reply. Sprinter sighed and stopped. "Look, it's just something that happened that had to do with Eggman in the city, okay? I just don't want to talk about it."

Luna nodded. They finally made it out of the forest. Sprinter held up a hand to shield his eyes until they could properly adjusted to the light, pushing his sunglasses closer to his eyes and blinking. He was a bat, after all. The beach stretched out to their left. Luna and Fuschia stared at it, transfixed by the beauty of the water.

Pretty, isn't it?" Sprinter asked, looking at Luna and Fuschia, "My buddy and always liked to ride the waves." Sprinter stopped, thinking about his friend and staring at the sea.

One of Luna's ears flicked over to the side where Sprinter was, and she looked over at him. "Your buddy?" She asked, "Is that what has been making you so sad?"

Sprinter crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking of that nightmarish day.

He opened his eyes and stared over the ocean again, perhaps reliving a distant memory. "Yes." He said, a note of pain in his voice.

Sprinter, Luna, and Fuschia sat on the grass on the edge of the beach, and Sprinter explained to them about his friend, and his need of revenge on Eggman. After relating the sad tale, he slowly reached up and fingered the bandana around his neck, staring out over the ocean.

_I'll never forget you, dude..._ The words echoed through his mind.

And I'll never forget you, Mac." Sprinter whispered as he stared over the ocean.

Luna watched Sprinter thoughtfully, and then turned to the sea.


	10. Eggman and the Destroyed City

Chapter Ten: Eggman and the Destroyed City

Luna, Fuschia, and Sprinter all stood in front of a destroyed town. Luna glanced at Sprinter, whose hands and teeth were clenched in anger and sorrow, tears in his eyes as he stared into the city. Luna started to reach her hand forward to place it on his shoulder, but he started walking into the crumbled city, saying, "Let's go."

Luna and Fuschia followed silently. They knew that going through the city would bring many painful memories for Sprinter, and they didn't want to say anything to make him upset.

They didn't count on meeting Eggman in the city. They weren't yet prepared for that. Unfortunately, as most things seem to happen at the worst possible time, Eggman had robots in the middle of the city, rebuilding it with roboticized former citizens.

The fat man himself was in his hover chair, which somehow managed to support his weight, watching the work going on below.

"Ah…another day, another conquered city." Eggman said to himself, leaning back in his chair and watching his robotic slaves rebuilding the bombed city, "And Sonic isn't here to ruin it for me. What's this?" Eggman sat up looking farther down the street.

Three animals stood there; a purple bat, a purple wolf, and a two-tailed pink fox.

"Not another two-tailed fox!" Eggman exclaimed, "Where are they coming from?" He started to think about the trio of animals as he watched them walk up the street. "This is perfect," He said, "Three more animals to roboticize and enslave."

Eggman flew down into the street and called all of the roboticized animals. "Get them!" He said, pointing down the street, "Bring them to me!"

"Yes, Master Robotnik." The mechanical slaves said, stopping what they were doing and walking down the street.

Luna, Fuschia, and Sprinter stopped and looked ahead of themselves. A fleet of robots stood before them.

"Crud." Fuschia said.

"I want revenge on Eggman, not those he has taken prisoner!" Sprinter exclaimed, "But now that they're roboticized, they are no longer really there. They won't hold back!"

"I don't know what roboticized is supposed to mean, but I think that with this many robots, are first strategy should be to RUN FOR OUR LIVES!!!" Luna yelled as they turned and started running in the other direction.

But the robots were too fast for them, suddenly zooming around and encircling the trio.

"To the air!" Sprinter shouted.

"That won't work." A voice said from above them.

They looked up to see Eggman.

"You!" Sprinter shouted, taking a fighting stance and pointing at Eggman, "You destroyed this city, enslaved these people, and killed my friend!" He shouted angrily, hate burning in his eyes.

"I killed your friend?" Eggman asked, "Too bad. He could have been another robotic slave for me."

"YOU SHUT UP!" Sprinter shouted at Eggman, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT MY FRIEND THAT WAY!"

Eggman laughed at Sprinter, upsetting the bat even more.

"Hey! Don't you dare laugh at him!" Luna yelled at Eggman.

"Oh? And what are you gonna do about it, wolfy?" Eggman asked, "Howl at me? Growl at me? Without wings or weapons or any other sort of defense I'm afraid that you're at my mercy."

"I'M MORE THAN I SEEM!" Luna yelled, shapeshifting into a dragon.

Eggman blinked, surprised. "A shapeshifter?" He said in shock. _She could be a very valuable ally. If I can't persuade her to come to my side, then I'll have to take her by force. _He thought. His thoughts were interrupted by a big wave of wind.

Luna was flying in the sky, her wings flapping big gusts of air at Eggman's hovering chair. Eggman yelled out angrily as he was blown out of the city. Sprinter and Fuschia, meanwhile, were defending themselves against robots below.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Fuschia said to each robot as she kicked, punched, and whacked robots away.

"I'm really sorry about this, Mrs. Thompson." Sprinter said as he whacked a dangerous looking goose-like robot away from him, beating the bolts out of others that came his way.

"If you're still in there," Luna said to the roboticized animals, "We're going to get out of this city and find Sonic, and join him and we'll come back later to help save you." With that, she dropped out of the air onto the ground, creating a massive earthquake that made the robots fall to the ground.

Sprinter and Fuschia had flown into the air at the moment that Luna hit the ground, so they remained unharmed. Luna quickly shapeshifted back to her regular form, sprouting wings and flying into the air with Fuschia and Sprinter. They flew above the city as fast as they could. Luna and Fuschia were barely keeping up with Sprinter, who was flying at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. He slowed down a little so that they would still be able to see him to follow him.

They made it out of the city in record time, not stopping until they'd gone past it into a valley.

The robots back in the city were all broken, electricity zapping from open wires. They were still alive though. One robot's speaker still worked.

"Hurry-ZZT-back…" It said.


	11. A Dream

**Chapter Eleven: A Dream**

"I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!!!" Sprinter shouted in anger, punching a tree repeatedly as hard as he could.

Luna and Fuschia watched him, concerned.

"Doesn't that hurt your hands?" Fuschia finally asked Sprinter.

"Huh?" Sprinter asked, pausing for a moment. "OW OW OW OW OW!!!" Sprinter yowled out, waving his hands in the air as pain began coursing through his knuckles.

Luna immediately turned into a winged unicorn. She laid her horn across his hands. The pain suddenly left Sprinter's hands.

"Ah." Sprinter slumped against the tree, sitting on the ground. "I didn't know you could heal." He said to Luna, who had reverted back to her original form.

"I can only heal when I turn into a unicorn." Luna said, shrugging, "In that form I can make trees grow, create a magical protective shield around myself and others I choose to protect, and send a beam of rainbow colored light at someone for defense. I can also heal in that form, but not in any other form."

"What about your dragon form?" Fuschia asked, remembering how Luna had turned into a half-dragon the day they'd met, "Can you use magic in that form too?"

"I can make a shield around my mind to protect myself from being hypnotized and can use battle magic, but not heal or make things grow." Luna replied, "I can also breath fire, ice powder, water, or bolts of electrictity at things in dragon form."

"Cool!" Fuschia said.

"Yeah, cool." Sprinter said, unenthusiastically. He looked up at Luna a moment later, "Sorry." He said, "I don't mean to be rude to you or anything, but…"

"I understand." Luna said knowingly.

"It's getting dark." Fuschia remarked, suddenly.

Luna and Sprinter looked up at the sky through the branches and leaves of the trees around them, which was indeed getting darker as they watched.

"We'd better set up camp." Sprinter said, looking over to Luna and Fuschia.

_Luna looked around. _Where are Sprinter and Fuschia?_ She thought to herself in confusion. She began walking around. She was in a forest, but it didn't seem to be the forest she was last in. It was nighttime. _

"_Luuuuunaaaa…" A soft, loving voice called. _

_The trees suddenly melted into the ground around Luna. She turned around to see that she was now on a cliff. A tall, dark figure stood at the peak of the cliff, the full moon glowing behind it. A wind blew on the cliff, ruffling the edges of the figures light blue cloak. White ears flicked up from on top of the hood of the cloak. _

"_M-mother?" Luna asked, watching the figure, whose eyes stared longingly at the purple wolf. _

"_Luna?" The figure seemed to be saying, "Luuunaaa…_LunaLUNA_!" _

Luna woke up with a jolt as the voice became familiar and insistent. She blinked, confused, and looked straight into the faces of Sprinter and Fuschia.

"Are you all right, Luna? You…you wouldn't wake up!" Fuschia said worriedly.

"You wouldn't wake up," Sprinter said, "We woke up and you were tossing and turning, and calling out "Mother"."

"I…I had a dream…" Luna said, "A dream that I saw my mom. And she was calling for me."

Fuschia and Sprinter's ears twitched in surprise as Luna told them about her dream.

"Do you think she was calling you?" Sprinter asked.

"I don't know…" Luna said, "But one thing's for sure: She didn't abandon me of her own free will."


	12. Castle In The Heart Of The Forest

**Chapter Twelve: Castle in the Heart of the Forest Halloween Special**

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia walked through the woods. It was a cold, windy day. In the morning, it had been nice; sunlight shining through the branches of the trees above them, birds singing their songs to the world, a gentle breeze floating through the forest. But as they went further into the forest, it began to change. The first thing that happened was that the birds stopped singing.

As soon as that happened, Luna was instantly alert. When the birds stopped singing at her old home, it meant that trouble was about to coming roaring to life. But nothing had come leaping into battle with them, as always happened when the birds stopped tweeting.

Nothing at all.

As they progressed through the forest, it also became gradually darker, as though clouds had started covering the sun. A cold, harsh wind blew from behind the trio, pushing them forward.

Luna stopped suddenly. "I don't like this." She said, "I've got a really bad feeling. We should change direction."

"I agree with you completely, but if we go back, Eggman and his robots will be waiting, possibly with an army." Sprinter replied.

Fuschia looked up at Luna. "If we keep up at the pace we're going, we should be out of this forest by tomorrow. If we turn back now, we'll be back the way we came by tomorrow. I estimate that we're at the heart of the forest by now."

Luna was silent for a moment. "Well, let's get out of here as fast as we can. I don't have a good feeling about this place."

They continued through the forest for a few more hours. It was late afternoon, around six, when they finally came to it. By that time it was really dark out, and the wind was really howling.

"Whoa, check _that_ out!" Sprinter said, as they stood at a large gate to a larger, dark castle with tall towers.

"Maybe the people inside will let us stay for the night." Fuschia said.

The gate on the castle slowly swung open, beckoning them inside.

"Uh uh. No way. No." Luna said, "I had a bad feeling before, now it's a feeling of doom. I do NOT want to go in there!"

As if triggered by Luna's refusal, thunder boomed above them, and rain began pouring down upon the forest.

"We need to get inside where it's dry, come on!" Sprinter shouted to Luna and Fuschia, running through the gate, his wings hanging down limply from the pouring rain.

Fuschia hurried after him, careful to keep her tails off of the wet ground. Luna growled to the sky, then ran after her friends, up to the castle. They clung together under the overhang in front of the door, shivering as they watched the rain pouring down on the earth in front of them. Sprinter pulled away from Luna and Fuschia, and reached for the doorknocker. Before he could touch it, the door swung open. He looked into the large room in front of him, totally lit, beautifully decorated, and then over at Luna and Fuschia. The pair went in before him. As Luna passed Sprinter, he thought he saw a flash of fear in her eyes.

As soon as all three were inside, the door slammed shut behind them, making them jump.

"I don't like this place." Luna said, "I don't like it at all."

"Me neither." Fuschia said.

"The door's stuck!" Sprinter said, pulling on the doorknob as hard as he could. Luna and Fuschia ran to help him, pulling on the doorknob as hard as they could. Finally they fell over backwards, pulling so hard. Luna jumped up and turned into a dragon, ramming against the door with all of her might. It didn't even creak.

"We're locked in!" Fuschia yelled.

"Luna, it's not going to work!" Sprinter said, dodging Luna's paw as it crashed on the floor beside him.

Luna reverted back to her original form. "It's got to!" She yelled, "I want OUT OF HERE!!!"

Sprinter rushed over and grabbed Luna. "It's okay." He said.

"It's not okay!" Luna shrieked, "Every instinct I have is going crazy right now saying this place is not safe!"

"Easy, easy." Sprinter said, trying to calm Luna down, "Look, we're in here, we're going to get out, okay? Come on Luna, don't break down on us. It's going to be all right. Now come on, let's try to get through here."

Luna's breathing and heart rate returned to normal. They began walking through the castle halls, nervously looking at the pictures and wall hangings. Pictures of gigantic robots, evil looking objects, and people without faces were posted on the wall. One picture particularly caught Luna's eye. It showed a figure standing on a balcony, looking out as lightning struck outside. The figure was wearing a light blue cloak, and white ears poked through the hood of the cloak.

"Luna, come on." Sprinter beckoned, looking back at Luna.

Luna turned to him. "Just a second." She said, "This picture has a person that looks just like my-" When Luna turned back to the picture, the figure in the light blue cloak was gone.

"What person?" Fuschia asked, as she and Sprinter walked over to Luna and looked at the portrait.

"It was just…" Luna stared at the picture, which now showed just a balcony with lightning streaking the sky outside, "Nothing. I must have been imagining things."

As they walked along, Sprinter saw a picture too. It was a picture of his friend, Mac, staring angrily at the viewer, standing in front of a wall.

Mac?" Sprinter asked, staring back at his friends' angry face in surprise.

"Sprinter, what is it?" Luna called.

Sprinter turned to Luna and Fuschia, "Look! There's a picture of Mac here!" He called.

Luna and Fuschia hurried over. Sprinter turned to the painting on the wall with them, "Look! See-" He broke off suddenly. Where Mac's portrait had been, a blank painting of a wall now stood.

"All I see is a wall." Fuschia said.

"This place is playing games with us." Luna said, "I thought I saw…my mother."

The three looked at each other. Fuschia walked over to a painting across the room. "I should probably see something strange, since I'm the only one who hasn't. But I don't see…wait…what's that?" She asked, "AAAH!!!"

Luna and Sprinter ran over the hall to Fuschia, who had fallen over in horror. They started to help her up and she pointed to the picture. "LOOK!!!" She screamed.

They looked up at the picture, which was one of a ballroom.

"THERE'S A GIANT EVIL GHOST IN THE PICTURE!!!" Fuschia shrieked.

"It's okay, Fuschia, calm down! There are no such things as ghosts! And even if there were, we wouldn't let them get you!" Sprinter said as Luna hugged the scared little fox, "We've just got to stick together and we'll be fine."

Luna let go of Fuschia, who shakily stood up. "I want to get out of this place." She said fearfully.

"Me too." Luna said, hugging the little fox again. They looked back to their pictures. Luna's mom, Mac, and the ghost were all gone from the three.

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia walked down the hall together, shaken by the things they'd seen.

_Why did Mac look so angry?_ Sprinter thought to himself, _And why did he disappear when the others came? It's almost as if he was angry…at me…_

_Mother…she was here?_ Luna thought to herself, _But when? And why?_

_How come I didn't see anyone special to me in the portrait when the others did?_ Fuschia asked herself, _And am I going to see that ghost?_

They continued down the maze of halls together, thinking about the things they'd seen and wondering about them. Luna started to say something, turning to her friends. "What if-" She stopped, looking around. Sprinter and Fuschia weren't there.

"Oh, no." Luna said, "Sprinter? Fuschia?!"

She ran down the hall, turning at corners and calling for her friends. She ran past a room, then stopped and came back, stopping in the doorway. A figure in a light blue cloak with white ears coming out of the hood was staring out from where it stood on the balcony of the room. Lightning lit the room as it crashed through the sky. Luna stepped further into the room.

"Mother?" She asked, her voice faltering for a moment, "Is that you?"

The figure's ears pricked, indicating that it had heard Luna. As Luna watched, it turned around. But instead of her mother's face, Luna instead saw the face of a monster. It hissed, it's tongue flicking out with teeth of its own.

Meanwhile

"Luna! Fuschia! Where are you?!" Sprinter yelled, running down the hall. _More importantly, where am I?_ He asked himself as he ran. Suddenly he saw someone walk out in front of him and he skidded to a stop. The person looked at him, hate and anger blazing in his eyes.

"Mac?" Sprinter asked in disbelief, his glasses sliding down his nose.

"You didn't help me." Mac replied, "You let me die!"

"No!" Sprinter exclaimed, tears in his eyes.

"Why didn't you help me, Sprinter? You could have saved me. You let me die, and you didn't care. You don't care at all." Mac said.

"No! I do care Mac!" Sprinter cried out, tears pouring from his eyes. Then he stopped, staring intently into the eyes of the ghost before him. "Wait, you can't be Mac. Mac would never say something like that. He knows I cared about him. We were like brothers. WHO ARE YOU?!" He asked, his eyes blazing with hate.

The ghost who looked like Mac laughed, suddenly fading away.

In another hallway

"Crud, crud, crud!" Fuschia walked down the hall, holding her arms and shaking. "Where are you guys?" She asked, looking around as she walked.

Suddenly she found herself in front of a large door. She slowly pushed it open and looked inside to see a beautifully decorated lit room with a chandelier in it. Two sets of stairs curved around the back of the room to a mirror on a wall. Fuschia yelled out and turned to run, only to see a gigantic set of teeth and a pair of eyes grinning maniacally at her from the wall in the hall. Fuschia started screaming and ran into the ballroom as a giant ghost flew out of the wall, flying after her. When it got inside of the room, the double doors slammed shut and locked behind him, locking the two in. The ghost started laughing, coming forward and chomping at Fuschia, who was hightailing it across the room.

Suddenly a lion burst through the mirror at the stairs. "FUSCHIA!" It roared, leaping off the stairs with its claws extended, pouncing at the ghosts eyes.

"Luna!" Fuschia exclaimed as the lion went straight through the ghost. Sprinter suddenly burst through the door, running over to Fuschia and grabbing her hand.

"We've got to get out of here NOW!" Sprinter yelled, running up the stairs with Fuschia in tow.

"KING BOOMBOO LOVES VISITORS!!!" The ghost yelled, swiping at Luna the lion and knocking her across the room.

"How can he do that?" Fuschia asked as Sprinter left her at the top of the stairs and ran to get Luna, "How can he hit her when she can't hit him?"

"He's the king of ghosts! He can do anything!" Sprinter called, running down to Luna.

"KING BOOMBOO WILL KEEP YOU HERE FOREVER!!!" King Boomboo said, reaching to pick up Luna, who had reverted back to her original form.

Suddenly Sprinter grabbed Luna and ran up the stairs with her before the ghost could grab the wolf.

"Come on!" Fuschia said as Sprinter put Luna down and the three ran through the mirror into the hall.

"KING BOOMBOO ANGRY!!!" The ghost roared, his voice making the castle rumble.

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia ran down the hall, where a window was. Luna grew wings and they leapt through it, the window shattering as they flew through it. King Boomboo flew out of the castle, trying to catch them. The sun rose over the horizon, just as he was about to grab them out of the air. The ghost stopped in midair as the sun came up, then screamed as the light pierced him. Then he was gone, blown away like dust. The castle collapsed then, and a song rose from the forest. It was all of the small woodland animals, finally safe and free from Boomboo's cursed castle. The clouds in the sky dissipated, and the sun shown through the trees once more.

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia looked around.

"We're at the edge of the forest!" Fuschia exclaimed.

"Next time you have a bad feeling about something, we'll change our plans." Sprinter said seriously.

Luna nodded, "Let's never speak of this again." She said with a rye smile.

They flew out of the forest, away from their nightmare, towards a new adventure.


	13. The Flying Squirrel

**Chapter Thirteen: The Flying Squirrel**

Luna, Sprinter, and Fuschia walked through the canyon, looking in wonder at the mountain walls around them.

"So many colors," Fuschia said, "And they all blend into each other so perfectly."

Yeah," Sprinter said, "It is pretty beautiful."

"I've never seen cliffs like these before." Luna said, "It makes me a little nervous being down here, you know. What if someone was on the top of the mountain and pushed boulders down on us?"

"If they do, we can just fly away." Sprinter said, "If it's really making you nervous, though, I can fly up and check."

"No, no, that's all right." Luna said, "I just get nervous when things are above me sometimes."

"Hey, what's that?" Fuschia asked, stopping and pointing up in the sky.

"It's a bird." Sprinter said, seeing the little thing in the sky so far up above.

"It's a plane!" Fuschia said, as it came closer.

"DUCK!" Luna yelled.

"That's not a duck." Sprinter said, staring at the incoming plane.

"No, I mean DUCK!" Luna said, jumping into her friends and hurling them into the wall.

"LOOK OUT!!!" A figure dressed up in pilot gear yelled, as she tried to steer the crashing plane.

The plane crashed into the ground, its front propeller getting smashed as it grated across the ground. A couple seconds later the pilot, a squirrel, jumped out, leaping over the side of the plane and landing on the ground.

"Looks like I won't be flying this baby again." The squirrel said, inspecting the front of her plane, "Oh well. It's been acting up for the past few weeks anyway."

The squirrel then turned to see Luna, Fuschia, and Sprinter all looking at her in surprise and amazement.

"Hi!" The squirrel said, walking over, "My name's Sally Airborn, Ace pilot extraordinaire. Nice to meetcha!" The squirrel stuck out her hand in greeting, to shake.

Sprinter stared at the squirrel, bewildered. Fuschia was looking past the squirrel at the plane. Luna grabbed the squirrel's hand and shook it.

"My name's Luna." Luna said. She gestured to her friends, "This is Sprinter, and that is Fuschia. Fuschia?" Luna asked, after seeing that she was pointing to an empty spot on the ground.

The little fox was inspecting the plane. "This is so cool!" She exclaimed, "I wonder how they built this…"

"You like it?" Sally asked, walking over, "That's my plane. Or rather, was my plane, it's wrecked now."

"What'll you do with it now that it's crashed?" Fuschia asked.

"I'll probably have to leave it here and go get someone to help me tug it to the junkyard." Sally said.

"Oh, please don't!" Fuschia exclaimed, "Can I use it to try to build things?"

"Well I guess so, if you want to that bad." Sally said, looking into the fox's pleading eyes.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" Fuschia yelled out, grabbing the squirrel into a hug.

A moment later Fuschia started to work on disassembling the plane with a screwdriver she'd had tucked away.

"She's really excited, huh?" Sally said, scratching her head and smiling. Then she turned to Luna and Sprinter. "So where're you headin' to?" She asked them.

"We're trying to find Sonic." Sprinter said.

Luna nodded in agreement, "I'm also trying to figure out what happened to my mother." She added, pain and sorrow flashing through her eyes.

"Oh…" Sally said, confusion whirling through her head for a moment, "A mother?"

Sprinter looked at her curiously, "Yeah. You know, the person who took care of you when you were little, read you stories, taught you things…a mother."

"Oh." Sally said, thinking for a moment, "I guess that for me that would be Eggman. But I didn't like him. That's why I flew away, on my first plane, the Bomber. At least, that's what fatso called it. But it broke down a few years ago. That's how I got that one," Sally said, jerking her thumb towards the wrecked plane behind her, "The flyer. I like to name my planes." She smiled wryly, "Too bad I wrecked it. Oh well, like I said, it's been acting up for the past few weeks anyway."

"You were raised by Eggman?" Sprinter exclaimed.

"Calm down, Sprinter. She ran away from him. That pretty much tells us that she's no bad guy." Luna said.

"Of course not. I'm a girl." Sally said, "Ever since I got away from that weirdo I've been helping to transport people with my planes. But for some reason, Eggman always seems to know where I'm going." The squirrel frowned in contemplation.

"Finished!" An excited voice rang out.

The trio looked over to see the shell of a plane next to Fuschia, and a small car-like thing with wheels on it. The two-tailed fox grabbed some small red berries off a bush and smashed them in her hands, painting the number 7 in a circle on each side of the cart.

"Ta-da!" Fuschia said.

Sprinter and Luna stared at the makeshift car, jaws dropped. Sally smiled and bounced over to where Fuschia was.

Looking at the ribs of the plane and then at the car, Sally said, "Well, I guess that's one thing to do with it. Where'd you learn how to build carts like that, kid?"

"I don't know." Fuschia said, shrugging.

"Where's the engine?" Sally asked, peering into the cart.

"Well, there is no engine." Fuschia said, "I figured it would work if someone could run behind it real fast and then one person could grab these handles right here and pull it up so we can make it jump over rocks, and then someone sits in the front and hits tree branches and things that get in our way."

"Sounds pretty interesting." Sally said, "You've certainly put a lot of thought into this."

Fuschia smiled, proudly looking at the car. Luna and Sprinter walked over, still amazed.

"We need to get you some more gears and things," Sprinter said, "You've got a talent, Fuschia. A real talent!"

Luna examined the car. "This is awesome, Fuschia!" She said, "This'll help us get out of these cliffs a lot quicker."

Fuschia beamed with pride. "Thanks." She said happily.

"So what's the seven for?" Sally asked.

"I like that number. Besides, it's supposed to be lucky." Fuschia replied, shrugging.

"Why don't we all get in it and go?" Sprinter asked.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Sally asked, her voice faltering for a moment, "Well…goodbye, I guess." Sally turned and started to walk away.

"Where're you going?" Luna asked.

"Well, I need to get out of these cliffs too, get a new plane." Sally said, "See ya."

Sally felt a hand on her shoulder. She half turned to see who'd stopped her. It was Sprinter.

"I thought you'd come with us." He said, taking his hand off the squirrels shoulder and motioning to the plane.

"But there are only three places." Sally said.

"Fuschia couldn't possibly lift that entire thing off the ground when we need to jump, so I'm going to help her. Luna's been elected to steer, because she's the fastest with her many forms. So we need someone in the front to smash anything coming our way." Sprinter said.

Sally looked over at the cart. Luna was standing behind it, her legs were spotted and ended in paws with claws. Her arms were big, green, and scaly. "WHAT THE HECK?!" Sally yelled.

"She's a shapeshifter. Don't worry, she won't eat you or anything." Fuschia said, popping up from behind the cart.

Luna shrugged. "Sorry. I usually don't tell anyone when I first meet them. I've got to find out which side they're on first. I'm a good guy. I don't want to tell any of the bad guys what powers I have. Makes it a surprise for them, you know." Luna said, winking at Sally.

Sally shook herself, then said, "Okay. I'll be in the front. Tree limbs, beware!" She said, smiling and then leaping to the front of the cart.

Sprinter and Fuschia flew into the air, holding on to the cart.

"Let's go!" Sally shouted.

Then they took off.


	14. A Very Bumpy Ride

**Chapter Fourteen: A Very Bumpy Ride**

The quartet took off through the canyon at high speed.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!" Sally yelled as they rocketed at high speed down the valley.

Sprinter and Fuschia held on to the bars as hard as they could. "MIND SLOWING DOWN A BIT?!" Sprinter yelled, his wings flapping dangerously in the wind.

"I SECOND THAT MOTION!" Fuschia added, her tails flapping behind her rather than helping her fly.

"Sorry!" Luna called back, slowing down a little so the two flyers could fly.

Sprinter and Fuschia regained their flying form, hovering and flapping in the wind.

Meanwhile 

Eggman waited in the control room of the Egg Carrier Two, a fleet of airships floating around it.

"Okay, Sally-girl, I know you're here, _somewhere_." He said, looking at a blinking dot on radar.

The genius turned to a screen showing shots of the canyon as they flew towards where the longitude and latitude points intersected. Soon his fleet slowed to a stop, reaching the destination. Eggman looked again at the screen to see the hull of a disassembled plane.

"What the?!" Eggman exclaimed, "Well, she couldn't have gone far!" He blinked

He plotted a new course, flying onward through the canyon.

Bum Bum Buuuuuuum 

"This is so EXHILARATING!" Sally Airborn exclaimed as she rode in the front seat of the hand-built cart, "It's almost like flying! Almost."

"Interestingly enough, I don't feel tired at all, flying as long as we've been flying." Sprinter said.

"That's 'cause the speed is what's keeping us up." Fuschia said, "The only time we'll really need to work is if we come up to a rock or something."

"Can'ttalkmustpushcartathighspeed!" Luna shot out, panting.

"Heh heh." Fuschia said, an embarrassed look on her face, "Next time I'll try to build something that doesn't require as much leg work."

Suddenly a shadow enveloped the cart.

"What's that?!" Sprinter asked, surprised.

"WHY, HELLO THERE, LITTLE FRIENDS. DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU COULD ESCAPE FROM ME?" A voice boomed from above.

"That's Eggman!" Sally cried out.

"WHY, SALLY. LOOK HOW YOU'VE GROWN. IT WAS VERY NAUGHTY TO LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, THOSE TEN YEARS AGO. IT'S TIME TO COME HOME NOW. OR ELSE!" Eggman's voice rumbled across the canyon, causing boulders to come tumbling down the cliff sides.

Sally yelped as boulders began tumbling in front of the cart, pulling her feet up from under the hood and smashing through the large rocks with her legs. Luna steered the cart to the right, speeding up as a rockslide started roaring down the cliff on the left. She saw a narrow passage in front of her going into the cliff and pushed the cart towards it, running as fast as she could. Sprinter and Fuschia flew into each other as the cart propelled through the gap in the cliffs, managing to sustain flight. As they neared the end of the narrow passage, a boulder crashed down from above. Luna attempted to stop the cart, but at the speed rate it was nearly impossible. Just as they were about to hit the enormous boulder, Sprinter and Fuschia pulled the cart into the air and it soared above the boulder, crashing down and propelling forward by its momentum.

Luna held on to the bar on the back of the cart, her legs flying out backwards after being separated from the ground. She struggled to regain her footing as Eggman's voice again thundered through the canyon.

"IS THAT YOU, SHAPESHIFTER? AND YOUR BATTY FRIEND WHO CANNOT CONTROL HIS ANGER?" Eggman said over his speaker.

The genius then heard a small, far off voice above the sound of his airplanes, which yelled, "Shut up!"

"AND THE LITTLE DOUBLE-TAILED TWIN OF AN ORANGE FOX I KNOW? SALLY, YOU'VE CERTAINLY MADE SOME NEW FRIENDS!" Eggman laughed on, "I'LL GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE.GIVE UP NOW, AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THE ROBOTICIZER WON'T HURT YOU…TOO MUCH!"

"That's IT!" Luna roared. She turned into a blue hedgehog. "Sprinter, Fuschia, get down and hold on tight!" She called in a voice that was not her own.

Fuschia and Sprinter flew into the cart and held onto the bars as hard as they could. Luna suddenly ran at superspeed through the canyon, a big cloud of dust flowing up behind her as she flew through the canyon.

Dust covered the screens of the security camera and the sky filled with the smoky dust. Eggman slammed his fist on his desk in anger. _She's seen Sonic!_ He thought, _And she's turned into him! Darn that hedgehog! He messes up my plans even when he's not around to mess them up! _"CURSE YOU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" He shouted out.


	15. A New Power

**Chapter Fifteen: A New Power/ Shadow's Past**

Luna zoomed out of the long and narrow canyon and steered her friends in the cart across a sea of sand. Suddenly a giant sand dune arose in front of them. Luna knew they wouldn't be able to stop fast enough, and she knew that it would be impossible at their supersonic speed to veer around it. Squeezing her eyes tight, Luna accidentally ran the cart straight into the sand dune.

The cart was smashed and everyone flew in the sand dune. The wind blew across the desert, spreading more sand into the motionless dune. Then, suddenly, Sprinter burst out of the sand dune, gasping for air and rubbing the sand out of his eyes, as well as spitting out flecks of sand that had flown into his mouth.

Fighting his way through the rest of the dune, Sprinter got out and brushed himself off. Then he saw two pink tails twitching, poking out of the dune. Blinking, Sprinter leapt onto the dune and dug Fuschia out, and the little fox shook the sand off of herself. They saw Sally's head poke out of the top of the dune, then recede back into the dune. Suddenly Sally burst out of the hole she'd created, jumping down to the side of the dune. Bewildered, the trio looked at each other. Where was Luna?

Suddenly the dune blasted apart. Sprinter, Fuschia, and Sally shielded their eyes at the wave of sand, then lowered their arms to see a dark pink and dark blue ball spinning in a circle in the middle of where the dune was. Finally it stopped spinning, and the trio stood in shock, looking at Sonic. The hedgehog looked surprised too, looking at the spikes on its back and feeling the ones protruding from its head. 

"This is weird." The hedgehog said, looking at Sprinter, Fuschia, and Sally.

"You turned into Sonic!" Sprinter exclaimed.

"I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it." Luna the Hedgehog said, in the voice of Sonic.

"Try looking like one of us!" Fuschia said, "This could be a real advantage!"

Luna nodded, then shapeshifted again, turning into a two-tailed pink fox identical to Fuschia. Then she tried turning into Sprinter. However, she did not have on sunglasses, nor earrings.

"AACK! MY EYES!" Luna-Sprinter yelled out, clutching at her eyeballs and reverting back to her original form.

"Now you see why I wear sunglasses all the time." Sprinter said, walking over and patting Luna's back.

"Darn. I guess that you can change forms, but you can't shapeshift your clothes. Wait. But…you've still got your dress on." Fuschia exclaimed.

Luna looked at her clothes skeptically. "I guess…maybe they melted into my skin or something." She said.

"Your bandanna changed colors when you turned into me." Sprinter remarked.

"And your shoes changed color and shape when you changed into me, and into Sonic." Fuschia said.

"Maybe it's because of my two emeralds." Luna said, taking out her light blue and red emeralds.

Sally, meanwhile, was looking around. "I believe we're in the Vast Desert Area. This is where I first met Knuckles."

"Knuckles? The Echidna?" Fuschia asked.

"I met him once, too." Sprinter said, "An honest guy. Always guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island."

"Yeah. This was back at the Shadow incident." Sally said.

Luna pricked her ears forward at that. "Shadow the Hedgehog?" She asked.

"But of course." Sally said, "Didn't you know?"

"Luna's lived in a forest her whole life. She doesn't know about the many battles and adventures here yet." Sprinter said.

"What are you people talking about?" Luna asked, confused and curious.

"Well, Shadow the Hedgehog isn't an ordinary hedgehog," Sprinter began.

"Like any hedgehogs around here are." Sally joked.

A quick glance from Sprinter hushed the squirrel. Sprinter continued, "Shadow the Hedgehog was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik on Space Colony Ark, forty years ago…"

Luna, Fuschia, and Sally sat, hushed and intrigued by the story rarely told. Finally Sprinter finished the tale of Shadow, the hedgehog always searching for the answers to his past.

"Now I understand." Luna said quietly, glancing around in thought.

"Understand what?" The other three asked.

"Why he wanted my emeralds." Luna said, "He was trying to find out the answers to his past, and he wants the emeralds to find them. But- why doesn't anyone tell him in the first place?"

"Because, usually, when Shadow comes the world is in peril and everyone's too busy trying to save the world to tell anyone anything." Sprinter said.

Luna looked down at her emeralds once more before putting them back in her bandana. "We'd better hurry on. We don't want to die of heat out here." She half-joked.

The four got up and brushed the sand off their legs, then began walking on through the desert. Luna was quiet, thinking of Shadow's past.


	16. The Mountain Cave

**Chapter Sixteen: The Mountain Cave **

Luna, Sprinter, Fuschia, and Sally Airborn continued through the desert, the sun burning above. It got so bright that eventually Sprinter was blinded, despite his sunglasses.

"I hate this," Sprinter said, his eyes shut tight as he walked along, "I _really_ do."

"Just keep using your sonar-echo-whatchamacallit and you'll be fine." Fuschia said, "You _are_ a bat."

"It's echolocation." Sprinter said.

"Yeah, yeah." Fuschia replied, her fur drenched with sweat.

"We've been walking for two hours in desert heat! Shouldn't we stop for a break?" Sally asked. Her pilot outfit was beginning to stick uncomfortably to her body from sweat.

Luna said nothing, sweating profusely as she walked along.

"Luna? Are you okay?" Sprinter asked, noticing her silence.

"Hot." Luna replied. Suddenly she stopped.

Her three companions stopped too and looked at her in question.

"Look!" Luna pointed ahead.

Sprinter turned, using his ability to see a large mountain with a small opening appear in his mind. Suddenly something large and scaly darted between his legs, and he fell backwards onto it. Squeezing his eyes open a little, Sprinter discovered that Luna had become a long, thin white dragon without wings, and had run not only under him, but under Fuschia and Sally as well. Sand sprayed out from under Luna's claws as she stampeded towards the cave. There were gaps between the light blue spikes running down her back. Sprinter grabbed one and shut his eyes fully again.

A few moments later, a sudden cold wave hit Sprinters face. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.

Balling his hands into fists and punching his arms into the air, Sprinter shouted, "YEAH! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

Luna waited patiently as her friends slid off her back before reverting back to her true form.

"Oh," Fuschia sighed, falling on her back onto the floor of the cave, "It feels so nice in here."

"Darkness! Finally! Something I can see in!" Sprinter exclaimed joyfully.

"Yeah, _you_ can see, but I can't." Sally said.

Suddenly a faint, soft white light lit up the cave. Sally, Fuschia, and Sprinter looked over to see that Luna had become a winged unicorn. Her horn was glowing.

Looking over suddenly, Luna asked, "Is this better?"

"Cool!" Fuschia exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely better! Yes indeed!" Sally said with a smile, throwing Luna a thumbs-up sign.

"Oh well. The darkness was nice while it lasted." Sprinter sighed, readjusting his sunglasses.

"We have two choices, now. We can go deeper in the cave, or we can go back into the desert again. I vote for the cave. All who are with me, say-"

Luna was cut off by simultaneous shouts of "Aye" From her friends.

"Then it's settled." Luna said, "Into the caves we go!"

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_Sorry that I took so long in getting this up, guys. Before __neopets__ had deleted my story, I'd had all of the chapters on one document so I have to search the document and separate the chapters before getting it up on the site because it would be too ridiculously long and hard to search for the chapter you were on if you had to get off and on again. That's why I'm putting it on separate documents. For separate chapters:D_


	17. The Underground Lake

**Chapter Seventeen****: The Underground L****ake**

The four traveled through the cave, navigating every twist and turn, led by the light of Luna's horn.

Once while they were walking, a spider somehow got on Fuschia's shoulder. She discovered it when she felt something tickling her shoulder, turning her head to see a hairy, eight legged, four-eyed spider staring up at her. As anyone would have, Fuschia jumped and screamed, accidentally knocking into Luna. Immediately the light went out. Luna relit her horn a second later, looking at Fuschia, who was lying on top of her. With an embarrassed grin, Fuschia got off of Luna. Sprinter picked up the spider, which had fallen onto the floor, and let it crawl onto an abandoned web on the side of the cave.

"It's only a spider, Fuschia. It won't hurt you." Sprinter said.

"I know. I just don't like spiders and didn't expect to see one on my shoulder." Fuschia's ears flipped downward as she looked at the spider, meekly kicking a pebble across the floor.

"It's okay, Fuschia. I used to be afraid of spiders when I was a kid." Sally said. She paused, then said, "Wait a minute. I still am. AAH!" Sally started waving her arms in the air, her hyper personality taking over.

Sprinter looked at Sally with exasperation plastered on his face.

"I don't think that helps, Sally." Luna said. She brushed against Fuschia's side in reassurance, making the young fox feel a little safer.

"Sorry. But it's true. At least up close. If it's at least two feet away from me, I'm happy." Sally said.

"With a sigh, Sprinter asked, "Can we go now?"

Luna nodded, as did Fuschia, who had stood with Luna between herself and the spider.

They continued down the cave for a while until they reached a large, room-like area of the cave. Three openings sprouted from the room in different directions.

"Which one do we take?" Fuschia asked.

"The left one!" Sprinter volunteered.

"No! The one on the right!" Sally exclaimed, "After all, right's always right!"

"Follow Sprinter." Luna said, thinking the bat had probably used his sonar ability to see which tunnel to take.

They ran through the tunnel on the far left, which took them to a room which looked strangely like the one they were just in.

"Look!" Luna exclaimed.

"Our footprints!" Fuschia said as they turned to see four sets of footprints leading into a tunnel.

"It was a trick tunnel." Luna said.

"I don't think that's natural." Sprinter muttered suspiciously.

"I told you! Right's _always_ right." Sally said triumphantly.

Okay, okay, you were right, let's go!" Luna said, walking toward the tunnel on the far right, keeping her horn lit so her friends could see.

Sprinter stayed behind for a moment, looking at the left tunnel with suspicion before following his companions.

They walked through the tunnel for a while longer before they heard a cracking noise above them. They looked up to see stalactites as big as safety cones above them. A drop of water slid down a stalactite and splashed onto Luna's nose.

"Ah, aah…" Luna started to sneeze.

Immediately Sprinter, Sally, and Fuschia held up their fingers to her nose and stopped her.

"Thanks." Luna said.

"As long as we're quiet, we should be safe." Sprinter whispered as he and the others withdrew their hands.

"AACHOO!" Luna threw her head back, then swung it forward with a tremendous sneeze.

The stalactites above started dropping to the floor of the cave, one crashing directly behind Luna and making her jump.

"Run!" Sprinter's startled cry echoed throughout the cave as the four began stampeding through the narrow tunnel.

"No need to tell us twice!" Sally said, sprinting forward as stalactites fell around her.

"Grab on!" Luna's voice rang out. She suddenly appeared by Sprinter's side.

Without pausing, Sprinter latched onto a fistful of Luna's mane and was immediately swept off the ground. Luna lowered her head and started charging forward. Sally, who was ahead of Luna, did a back flip into the air, landing on Luna's back and grabbing a bit of the shapeshifter's mane to keep from falling off. She grabbed Sprinter's free hand and pulled him up behind her.

"Help!" A voice yelped from behind Sprinter.

The bat turned to see Fuschia was holding onto Luna's tail for dear life, tossed wildly around in the air. He turned and grasped the small fox, holding her in a steady grip as Luna rushed forward.

A light suddenly appeared at the end of the tunnel. Luna lowered her head slightly more and plunged toward it. A minute later she surged out of the tunnel and into a giant area of the cave, her three friends on her back. There was a large lake dead ahead of her. Upon seeing this, Luna whirled around in an arc, stopping at the edge of the water.

Luna lowered her head fully, panting as the three on her back slid off. Once they were down, her horn stopped glowing and she shapeshifted back to her original form. She swayed from side to side, shuddering. Sprinter reached forward and caught her as she fell, gently lowering her to the floor.

As Luna started to catch her breath, Sally, Fuschia, and Sprinter started to look around. There was a giant, jagged, white stone glowing in the ceiling of the cave, which gave off the bright light so they could see. Smaller jagged rocks of different colors were at various places around the room.

Sprinter and Fuschia began examining the rocks, curiosity overcoming them as they marveled at the glowing pointy crystals. A startled cry suddenly came from by the lake, making them jump.

They turned to see Sally pointing in terror at the wall on the other side of the lake.

She was pointing at an assortment of crystals in the wall. Some were red, others black.

But it wasn't the color of the crystals that scared Sally. It was the formation in which the crystals were arranged.

The crystals in the wall formed the unmistakable symbol of Eggman.


End file.
